William Donaldson, a former chairman of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, has his hands full. Last month, the 77-year-old was tapped by President Barack Obama to sit on the Economic Recovery Advisory Board, created to help the administration figure out how to pull the U.S. out of recession. He’s also co-chair of the Investors’ Working Group, along with fellow former SEC chairman Arthur Levitt Jr., which will look after investors’ interests amid financial regulatory reform. “There are some financial institutions out there that have created products that don’t benefit investors and even harm them,” says Donaldson, adding that derivatives and subprime mortgage securities should be regulated more vigorously.
